Table 2 - uploaded by Peter Stoll
Content may be subject to copyright.
Results of ANCOVA testing for effects of abundance of reproductive individuals in previous years, initial abundance of vegetative individuals, biomass of the matrix vegetation in 2008 and seed dispersal distance (decreased, increased or unmanipulated) on the abundance of vegetative and reproductive Prunella grandiflora individuals after two years of seed dispersal manipulation.
Source publication
Plants stand still and interact with their immediate neighbors. Theory has shown that the distances over which these interactions occur may have important consequences for population and community dynamics. In particular, if intraspecific competition occurs over longer distances than interspecific competition (hetero- myopia), coexistence can be pr...
Citations
... Dominant species are numerically abundant species within a community that alter the community's functioning via their numerical superiority, thereby affecting one or more other species within the community and altering the overall function of the community as a whole [50]. In competition, dominant species typically benefit from mixed stands, while subdominant species may benefit from monoculture [51]. ...
The extensive vegetation destruction in opencast mining regions has led to various environmental problems, including the loss of biodiversity. However, our understanding of biodiversity’s response to survival, as well as its interactions with soil characteristics and climate change, remains limited. To address this gap, we analyzed data from a long-term monitoring site in an opencast coal mine reclamation region, focusing on the effects of species diversity, soil properties, and climate factors on the survival of four key restored species at 17, 22, and 27 years after planting. Our findings indicate that increased plot diversity is associated with decreased overall survival, and significant variations in diversity levels were observed among different plots. We also found that soil properties influenced species’ survival response to diversity, and these responses varied with stand age. In the early stages of succession, soil and diversity primarily affect species survival, with diversity playing a more dominant role as stand age increases. Overall, our findings suggest that the interaction between species diversity and soil composition significantly influences the survival of species. Continuous monitoring is necessary to validate these conclusions, particularly considering the diverse planting patterns in mine reclamation areas that can result in varying feedbacks of biodiversity on species survival.
... Therefore, we used the raw data (cf. Appendix A, Tables A2-A4) to calculate a ratio between the seedling number emerging from faeces of treated sheep and of the control group for each trial-data set separately, which was natural-logarithmised to meet the assumptions of the applied inferential statistics (Goldberg et al., 1999;Vogt et al., 2010). Thus, this naturallogarithm response ratio (LnRR) is defined as LnRR = ln (x trt /x‾ c ), where x trt is the seedling number emerging from faeces of treated sheep and x‾ c is the mean value of the control. ...
Sheep function as effective endozoochorous seed vectors in grasslands. Recent laboratory-based studies showed that this important function can be impaired by macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics, which are used to control parasites and enter into the environment mainly via faeces; however, there is a lack of in vivo studies. We conducted a seed-feeding experiment with sheep that included four temperate grassland species from four different families (Achillea ptarmica, Asteraceae; Agrostis capillaris, Poaceae; Dianthus deltoides, Caryophyllaceae; Plantago lanceolata, Plantaginaceae). A series of three feeding trials was carried out after one of two groups of sheep received a single administration of a common oral formulation of the macrocyclic lactone moxidectin. Faeces were collected to determine seedling emergence rate and emergence timing as well as moxidectin concentration via HPLC. Seedling emergence differed significantly between the anthelmintic-treated sheep and the control group. This impact depended on time of seed uptake after anthelmintic administration. Number of emerging seedlings was significantly reduced (27.1 %) when faeces moxidectin concentrations were high (on average 3153 ng g−1; 1 d post treatment) and significantly increased (up to 68.8 %) when moxidectin concentrations were low (≤86 ng g−1; 7, 14 d pt). Mean emergence time was significantly lowered at low moxidectin concentrations. These results demonstrate dose-related effects of deworming on seedling emergence which might affect endozoochory and eventually plant population dynamics in grasslands.
... There is some reason to believe that, similarly, interspecies competition will decrease under more heterogeneous conditions compared to less heterogeneous ones. Usually, only competition between individuals belonging to different species is assessed experimentally, but it is evident that both intraspecific and interspecific interaction need to be considered [177]. Detailed analysis of conceptual approaches in respect to facilitation, including differences between interspecific and intraspecific relationships, has been performed [178]. ...
Grasslands represent an essential part of terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, coastal grasslands are dominated by the influence of environmental factors resulting from sea-land interaction. Therefore, coastal grasslands are extremely heterogeneous both spatially and temporally. In this review, recent knowledge in the field of biotic interactions in coastal grassland soil is summarized. A detailed analysis of arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis, rhizobial symbiosis, plant-parasitic plant interactions, and plant-plant interactions is performed. The role of particular biotic interactions in the functioning of a coastal grassland ecosystem is characterized. Special emphasis is placed on future directions and development of practical applications for sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. It is concluded that plant biotic interactions in soil are omnipresent and important constituents in different ecosystem services provided by coastal grasslands.
... Another possible cause of aggregation is dispersal limitation, which is defined as the failure of a species to inhabit all habitats favorable for its growth and survival, resulting in limited dispersal (Vogt et al., 2010). A reason for individual species aggregation is that most seeds are found close to parent plants (Fortin & Dale, 2009). ...
Question
Individual plants of some highly diverse angiosperm families occur in aggregated spatial patterns in tropical plant communities, which have been defined as species swarms. Although this spatial aggregation seems paradoxical, because related species should segregate in space owing to expected ecological similarities, it has yet to be tested. We assessed whether species of the family Rubiaceae segregate in space in the understorey of a tropical plant community.
Location
An Atlantic Forest fragment in southeast Brazil.
Methods
We surveyed all local aggregates of Rubiaceae species within an 18.75‐ha plot across a topographic gradient. Based on the species abundance distribution, we used the 10 most abundant species to model their spatial patterns using univariate and bivariate spline spatial correlations. Bubble graphs were used to show how these species were distributed across the gradient.
Results
A total of 12,258 individuals of 47 species were found distributed in 543 local aggregates. The 10 studied species corresponded to 86% of the total abundance and were aggregated in space, at distances from 0 to 10–300 m. Pairwise comparisons revealed a segregation pattern at scales ranging from 0 to 10–230 m. Local aggregates were strongly dominated by a single species, whereas many other species occurred at very low abundances.
Conclusion
The studied species of Rubiaceae shared the understorey environment by occupying different portions of available space. Habitat preferences, negative interactions, dispersal limitation and priority effects may explain the observed spatial patterns. Swarms are not paradoxical because species of Rubiaceae use different microhabitats within the forest understorey.
... Species richness has been used as a primary measure of biodiversity and to assess its relationship to ecosystem functioning (Díaz and Cabido 2001;Magurran 2005;Vogt et al. 2010;Magurran and McGill 2011). Except for the neutral theory (Hubbel 2001), the ability to predict patterns of species richness is based on the assumption that different species respond differently to environmental gradients (Tilman 2004;Cadotte et al. 2011). ...
Species richness is a primary biodiversity measure in ecosystem functioning studies. The main factors shaping broadscale patterns of phytoplankton species richness (PhyRich) are temperature, system area, productivity, and less assessed light, flushing, and grazing. Our understanding of how the environment affects PhyRich is limited on broad spatial scales because of the lack of data using the same sampling and analysis methods. We selected three essential factors and hypothesized that PhyRich increases with water temperature, light availability (as turbidity), and intermediate productivity (as total phosphorus) levels. We assessed PhyRich from samples taken by a specially equipped hydroplane at 1045 sites across subcontinental (entire dataset) and regional (hydrographic regions) scales in Brazil (4°N–33°S and 34°–73°W) by quantifying the species number per site (settling technique). We selected models using the Akaike Information Criterion to understand which combination of variables better described PhyRich patterns. On our subcontinental scale, PhyRich was positively related to water temperature and negatively to light availability and productivity, although PhyRich was similar in oligo- and mesotrophic conditions, approaching the expected unimodal relationship. The trend for a slight reduction at the end of all gradients (univariate models) may have implications for the ecological functioning of freshwater systems.
... These differential survival responses among species to stand diversity may have been related to different relations between inter-and intra-specific competitive abilities. Dominant species that rank high in competitive hierarchy generally benefit in mixtures whereas subdominant species that rank low in competitive hierarchy may actually benefit in monoculture (Stoll & Prati, 2001;Vogt et al., 2010). ...
Tree survival affects forest biodiversity, structure and functioning. However, little is known about feedback effects of biodiversity on survival and its dependence on functional traits and interannual climatic variability.
With an individual‐based dataset from a large subtropical forest biodiversity experiment, we evaluated how species richness, functional traits and time‐dependent covariates affected annual tree survival rates from age 3–12 (years) after planting 39 species across a diversity gradient from 1 to 2, 4, 8 and 16 tree species.
We found that overall survival rates marginally increased with diversity at the plot level, with large variation among plots within diversity levels. Significant variation among species in survival responses to diversity and changes in these responses with age were related to species functional traits and climatic conditions. Generally, survival rates of conservative species (evergreen, late‐successional species with thick leaves and high carbon to nitrogen ratio but low specific leaf area, leaf phosphorus and hydraulic conductivity) increased with diversity, age and yearly precipitation, whereas acquisitive species showed opposite responses.
Synthesis. Our results indicate that interactions between diversity, species functional traits and yearly climatic conditions can balance survival among species in diverse forests. Planting mixtures of species that differ in functional traits in afforestation projects may lead to a positive feedback loop where biodiversity maintains biodiversity, together with its previously reported beneficial effects on ecosystem functioning.
... Grassland plants interact over relatively short distances (Vogt et al., 2010) that increase as seeds germinate, seedlings establish and individuals grow to maturity. Not surprisingly, stronger interactions are more likely to occur among neighbouring individuals than among more distant ones, although studies have yet to definitively resolve over what distances this typically occurs among grassland plants (Kennedy et al., 2002;Rayburn & Schupp, 2013;Tilman, 1994;van Oort et al., 2020). ...
... When individuals are surrounded by more intraspecific neighbours at the germination phase, it could lead to greater establishment by reducing interspecific interactions (e.g. allelopathic effects, changes in surface moisture, light or space competition) that can negatively affect seedling establishment (Heinen et al., 2020;Rayburn & Schupp, 2013;Stoll & Prati, 2001;Vogt et al., 2010). However, as individuals establish, resource competition and plant-soil feedbacks may lead to reduced individual productivity when individuals are in the presence of more intraspecific neighbours (Wubs & Bezemer, 2018). ...
... asynchrony, biodiversity effects, biomass production, interspecific interactions, intraspecific interactions, species aggregation, species richness, temporal stability establishment, productivity and diversity as a result of initial competitive exclusion or species coexistence (Heinen et al., 2020;Rayburn & Schupp, 2013;Stoll & Prati, 2001;Vogt et al., 2010). In this setting, if species could be separated spatially during seeding (e.g. using separate seed boxes in a seed drill or altering modes and timing of seed applications), there is a potential to increase establishment, biomass production and stability. ...
The extent to which individuals experience interspecific and intraspecific interactions through their spatial arrangements within diverse plant communities, whether because of confounding effects of species richness, evenness or direct changes in species patch sizes on their neighbourhood relationships, could affect grassland biomass production and its stability at community scales. Elucidating the ways in which neighbourhood effects and species richness contribute to such community responses has important implications for how practitioners establish grasslands to meet forage production and conservation goals.
We assessed the effects of altering plant species richness (3 levels: 2, 4 or 8 forage species per plot) and seed arrangements (4 levels: species mixed and seeded or seeded in 0.0625, 0.25 or 1.0 m² single‐species patches while maintaining plot‐scale species evenness) on above‐ground biomass production and its temporal stability in developing grasslands seeded with a suite of globally common forage species (three legumes, three cool‐season grasses and two warm‐season grasses).
Communities seeded with more species and those with their seeds arranged into smaller conspecific patches produced more biomass and were more temporally stable than those seeded with fewer species and larger conspecific patches. The effect of manipulating species arrangements is attributable to greater neighbourhood‐scale interspecific interactions and stronger complementary effects. Furthermore, seeding species into conspecific patches resulted in communities that were 34% more productive, that were just as temporally stable, and that had similar diversity effects as those seeded with a species mixture, as is common in grassland reconstruction efforts.
Synthesis. In comparison with conventional mixed‐seeding methods, seeding grasslands with high species richness and small, single‐species patches may promote grassland reconstruction through increased biomass production, temporal stability and complementarity effects. Our study highlights the importance of regulating intraspecific interactions within diverse communities for improving grassland biomass production and suggests that efforts to re‐evaluate methods used to establish forage and conservation grasslands could result in greater biomass production and stability in these systems.
... Two possible sources of stress that can affect the expression of age dependence in plants are competition and seasonal stress. Competitive interactions are important in determining individual fitness (van Tienderen and van Der Toorn, 1991;Vogt et al., 2010). Research results show that aging plants have reduced growth and increased mortality during stress. ...
Plants hold all records in longevity. Their aging is a complex process. In the presented review, we analyzed published data on various aspects of plant aging with focus on any inferences that could shed a light on aging in animals and help to fight it in human. Plant aging can be caused by many factors, such as telomere depletion, genomic instability, loss of proteostasis, changes in intercellular interaction, desynchronosis, autophagy, epigenetic changes and others. Plants have developed a number of mechanisms to increase lifespan. Among these mechanisms are gene duplication (“genetic backup”), the active work of telomerases, abundance of meristematic cells, capacity of maintaining the meristems permanently active and continuous activity of phytohormones. Plant aging usually occurs throughout the whole perennial life, but could be also seasonal senescence. Study of causes for seasonal aging can also help to uncover the mechanisms of plant longevity. The influence of different factors such as microbiome communities, glycation, alternative oxidase activity, mitochondrial dysfunction on plant longevity was also reviewed. Adaptive mechanisms of long-lived plants are considered. Further comparative study of the mechanisms underlying longevity of plants is necessary. This will allow us to reach a potentially new level of understanding of the aging process of plants.
... In its native range, P. officinarum is a poorer competitor in high moisture environments, while its competitive ability improved under limited water and nutrients (Weigelt et al. 2005;Bartelheimer et al. 2006). Growth in its native range is slowed by competition (Vogt et al. 2010). Despite good initial germination and establishment of seed planted into plots, its ability to persist as a seedling and to spread was considered poor relative to other planted species, making it less useful in the restoration of native grasslands (Pakeman et al. 2002). ...
Hawkweeds, from the Pilosella and Hieracium genera, are significant invaders of cool climate grasslands and herbfields, reducing productivity and impacting on ecosystem processes and species richness. With significant research on the ecology and biology of hawkweeds, this review identifies a number of key characteristics that influence invasion into native habitats. The ability of hawkweeds from the Pilosella genus to spread vegetatively, through rapidly-growing stolons that produce daughter rosettes, and to produce apomictic seeds makes species in this group significant invaders, particularly P. officinarum. Rapid colonisation of disturbed sites has been observed in many continents where agriculture or other anthropogenic disturbances are present. Rapid increases in colonisation appear more obvious over the last 50 years perhaps associated with time of arrival and/or increased grazing and pasture improvement of native grasslands enhancing colonisation. The production of apomictic seeds in all species provides a rapid pathway of invasion at early stages of establishment. Hybridisation amongst species may hamper the development of biological control agents in the future.
... For Trifolium, soil microbial communities can mediate coexistence, reducing the relative effects of competition (Siefert et al., 2018(Siefert et al., , 2019, and potentially elevating the overall quality of localized patches inhabited by congeners, even if reproductive interference is possible. Thus, shared microhabitat affinity and niche dynamics may be the chief drivers of co-occurrence patterns at local scales (Vogt et al., 2010), as for the McLaughlin (1 m 2 ) dataset, where co-occurrence was generally high (Figure 4), and large-flowered Trifolium species were not excluded from local sites with multiple congeners (Figure 2) despite the elevated potential for heterospecific pollen transfer. ...
Competition, niche differences and chance all contribute to community assembly; yet, the role of reproductive interactions between species is often less appreciated. Closely related plant species that share floral form, phenology and habitat often interact through pollination. They potentially facilitate pollinator attraction, compete for pollination services and/or exchange pollen. If reproductive processes are important to co‐occurrence, we predicted that fitness costs of heterospecific pollen transfer or pollen limitation should result in lower rates of co‐occurrence among outcrossing congeners. In contrast, selfers, which may be less exposed to heterospecific pollen, and/or less negatively affected by it, should co‐occur more frequently.
Flower size is an excellent proxy for mating system in clovers. Using herbarium records and three independent field datasets, we documented co‐occurrence patterns of Trifolium at 1 m²–1 km² scales in California. Using a randomization procedure to reshuffle matrices of community membership, we generated null hypotheses for the expected composition of large‐ and small‐flowered species in Trifolium communities of different sizes.
Across all spatial scales, large‐flowered outcrossers were over‐represented at sites lacking congeners, but under‐represented in communities with multiple congeners. Conversely, small‐flowered selfers often occupied sites with multiple other Trifolium species. Patterns for plant height and leaf size, which are weakly or strongly correlated with flower size, did not explain co‐occurrence patterns as robustly. Regression analysis and model selection corroborated the null model analyses, indicating that the likelihood of co‐occurrence decreased as flower size, and thus reliance on outcrossing, increased.
Synthesis. This study suggests that reproductive traits and processes may be significant contributors to community assembly and co‐occurrence in flowering plants.
